Events

2018 Upcoming Events

Friday, April 20, 2018 — 7:00 PM

53 Maryland Drive, Annapolis, MD 21401 (410) 280-2339

I’m looking forward to this event and hope to see friends and family living in Maryland and nearby areas on April 20th!

Past Events

“Wandering in Andalusia: The Soul of Southern Spain”

Saturday, August 5, 2017 — 11:00 AM- 12:00 PM

Novato Library 1720 Novato Blvd., Novato, CA

Group reading by writers featured in Wandering in Andalusia, the latest anthology in the prize-winning Wandering series of travel tales. This enchanting collection illuminates the soul of Southern Spain, a territory ripe with contradiction and beauty.

The Bay Area Book Festival – June 4 & 5, 2017– Berkeley

Sunday, June 4 – 10:00am to 1:00 pm

Visit me at the She Writes Press Booth on “Writer’s Row”

Come one come all—to this wonderful, free community event! I’ll be there on Sunday…but the festival is Saturday and Sunday—two days of fun for book lovers, with more than 280 Authors, a Film & Literature Series, and an incredible 50,000 Book Public Art Installation — The Lacuna!

Two years ago, I helped stack some of the many books to create this great work of art and tribute to literacy. I hope you’ll come and visit all the attractions, bring your reader friends, young and old, and enjoy this wonderful space.

Sorting for the Lacuna Project April 2015

Photo Credit: Alvin Wu, The Daily Californian

Stop by and say hello, and check out the many authors and noted presenters.

Monday, December 12, 1016 – 6:00 PM

Reading & Book Signing

Wandering in Andalusia: The Soul of Southern Spain

Book Passage, Ferry Building, San Francisco CA

Wandering in Andalusia: The Soul of Southern Spain– book reading. This new volume in the Wandering series of travel anthologies is chock-a-block full of tasty reads from a variety of fine writers. If you aren’t able to attend the Dec 10 book launch in Corte Madera, come join us in San Francisco!

Saturday, December 10, 2016 – 7:00 PM

Book launch celebration!

Wandering in Andalusia: The Soul of Southern Spain

Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista, Corte Madera, CA

This new volume in the award-winning Wandering series of travel anthologies is chock-a-block full of tasty reads from a variety of fine writers. I’m delighted to be included in this book and invite Bay Area folks to attend the distinctly Spanish-flavored and festive celebration.

Saturday, November 26, 2016 – 10:00 AM -4:00 PM

Meet the Authors from Left Coast Writers®

Book Passsage, 51 Tamal Vista, Corte Madera, CA

This is a special day for customers to discover the independent merchants in their community. Book Passage is celebrating by introducing authors from Left Coast Writers. We’ll be reading and signing books at this all-day event. I will be participating in the 2:00-3:00p time slot, reading from The Coconut Latitudes.

Friday, November 18, 2016 – 7:00 PM

“Magic of Memoir”

Four other contributors and I will be reading excerpts from The Magic of Memoir – a new collection of stories from memoirists. Edited by Linda Joy Myers, President of the National Association of Memoir Writers, and Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press, this is “a memoirist’s companion for when the going gets tough” and includes interviews with high-profile authors.

Live Radio Interview

April 7, 2016 – 10:00–10:30 AM

“Giving Voice to Your Courage”

BlogTalkRadio Program

I was interviewed LIVE on BlogTalkRadio by Dorit Sasson, writing coach, author and host of the program “Giving Voice to Your Courage.” To listen to the recorded podcast, Click Here.

Palo Alto

March 2, 2016 – 7:00 PM

She Writes Press and Books Inc. in Palo Alto proudly present an evening featuring fabulous fiction and unforgettable true stories with an author panel of local authors!

Panelists include: Diana Y. Paul, author of the coming-of-age novel, Things Unsaid; Kate Raphael, author of the thriller Murder Under the Bridge: A Palestine Mystery; Constance Hanstedt, author of the moving Don’t Leave Yet: How My Mother’s Alzheimer’s Opened My Heart; Rita M. Gardner, author of the lyrical autobiography The Coconut Latitudes: Secrets, Storms, and Survival in the Caribbean; and Donna Stoneham, author of the inspiring The Thriver’s Edge: Seven Keys to Transform the Way You Live, Love, and Lead.

2015 LitQuake – Reading – October 17th – 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Casa Bonampak, 1051 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94110

I’m excited to be reading at the 2015 LitQuake, in Phase 3 of October 17th LitCrawl – a favorite highlight of every Litquake.

“Las Terremotas Shake” — Five Bay Area women write about Latin American women, survivors of centuries of upheaval in Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, Nicaragua, and even Hollywood.

This year marks the sixteenth LitQuake festival, with year-round programming and writing classes, a LitQuake LitCast podcast, heard in 100 countries, and LitCrawl affiliates in several cities (welcome, Portland!). Our nine-day schedule takes care to showcase over 800 authors from all over the Bay Area, the U.S., and the world.

NPR – “Author’s Corner”

Wednesday May 13th, 2015

As a new author, Rita’s voice joins the collected library on NPR’s “Authors Corner” – compelling passages authentically read by the authors of selected new books. Affiliates from New York to Texas broadcast the 1-to-2 minute segments read by authors of 2015 books.

Listen to these two exciting segments from The Coconut Latitudes, read by author Rita Gardner.